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The second big surprise on American Idol last night was the shocking appearance of Bret Michaels on stage with absolutely no advance warning! (The first surprise being that Lee DeWyze beat Crystal Bowersox, of course.) Despite suffering a massive brain hemorrhage just weeks ago, Michaels rocked it out on American Idol with a performance of Poisonâ€™s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” alongside Idol castoff Casey James.

Bret Michaels and Casey James on 'American Idol' (FOX)

Nothing seems to be able to keep Bret Michaels down. First he underwent an emergency appendectomy in April. Not long after, Michaels was rushed to the hospital with a massive brain hemorrhage that could have easily ended his life. Just last week while recovering from that, Michaels was struck with a “warning stroke” and learned he has a hole in his heart that will eventually need surgery.

Still, none of that kept Michaels from appearing on the live Celebrity Apprentice finale, which he won hands down. Nor did his medical issues keep him from making a surprise appearance on the American Idol finale last night. Bret Michaels didn’t even tell his doctors or his family he would be doing it!

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“I didn’t tell [my doctors] I was going to do this,” Bret told MTV backstage after the finale. “But I feel great, I gotta be honest. There’s still a lot of pain I’m still experiencing… [But] I feel amazing.”

Michaels didn’t let his family in on the secret either. “I can’t believe my family let me out. I may not have told them either; I left a few things out,” he said. “But I needed this for my soul. Honestly. It was a great experience… I’ve spent the last month and a half in the hospital. I don’t ever want to see a hospital again.”

We loved seeing Michaels back on stage and rocking it – even if his performance was a bit subdued. But we really wish he would take it a bit easy until he is fully recovered because we don’t want him to ever see a hospital again either!

3 Responses to “Bret Michaels on American Idol: Didn’t Even Tell His Doctors!”

Believe it or not, I’d never heard of Bret Michaels before Celebrity Apprentice, but because of his heart and warmth, and creative genius the duration of the show, he was my favorite to win early on. Few people are as thoughtful, respectful, and genuine as Bret Michaels. He never disrespected anyone on the show. He never threw anyone under a bus to get ahead. Never was a negative word shared against anyone by him. And he worked his ‘little rocker’ off (and always produced outstanding work — he’s just a creative genius) both as project manager and also every episode to help his teammates. The one time he went against his teammates wishes as project manager – they preferred a more subdued radio commercial – he told them (paraphrasing), “I know that this isn’t exactly what they asked for, but I’ve gotta go with my heart. If they [judges] don’t like it, no worries, I will take full responsibility for it. I will go home.” That, America, is class. He never tried to scratch and claw his way to winning. He never said one negative word against his teammates. He’s just a class act. And people (especially the decision makers at Celebrity Apprentice) should really recognize that this is what should be rewarded. All too often, the individual who can catfight or tear opponents down the best wins in that boardroom. What a poor thing to teach our children. Wouldn’t it be better to teach them what Bret Michaels showed us — that warmth, respect for others, producing good, quality work, giving your all to others while building them up — not pulling them down — is what should be rewarded. I sincerely enjoy Bret’s personality. It’s incredibly refreshing. He has the uncanny ability to be sensitive, yet funny as all get out, he has warmth and concern for his fellow man, he demonstrates respect for women, for other human beings, he is an amazing creative talent, and he’s also able to just be himself and laugh and “rock” and have a good time. Just an all around great guy. Yes, it was sad to learn of his medical issues, and I am so happy that he’s with us, that he won the Apprentice show, and that he’s on the mend. Like you, I wish Mr. Michaels the very best. And you bet I love seeing him anywhere nowadays. It was such a treat to see him perform (for my first time — as a musician) on American Idol the other night. Nice. Very nice! And yes, I also concur with you. I hope that Mr. Michaels takes it a little easy until he’s even better… because we hope to see much more of him in the future. Yet still, I really admire your courage, Bret Michaels, and I hope that you’re enjoying every moment of life’s ride along the way to a full recovery. All the very best to you! You’re one of a kind. A treasure.